I wouldn't say the app market is thriving. It's been dominated by the same gimmicky IAP games for a long time, is full of hacky junk apps, and noticeably devoid of serious productivity apps. More and more prominent indies are throwing in the towel and taking jobs, which probably means less innovation.
And usage stats show user engagement for new apps at half of what it was a year ago.
Even a cheerleader like Marco Arment has expressed serious doubts about the health of the iOS app ecosystem lately.
> This kind of nervous uncertainty among devs is bad for the platform.
> The platform is thriving.
It is difficult to argue that this kind of activity on Apple's part creates uncertainty. Apple weighs this as a trade-off. What is consistent about Apple is that they err on the side of the user; or at least what they perceive to be of benefit to the user.
That is what many of these disagreements come down to.
And usage stats show user engagement for new apps at half of what it was a year ago.
Even a cheerleader like Marco Arment has expressed serious doubts about the health of the iOS app ecosystem lately.